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Trump: Putin 'Probably' Involved in Assassinations But Not in U.S.; Trump: Climate Change Isn't a Hoax But May Not Be Manmade; Elizabeth Warren Releases DNA Test Results to 'Boston Globe'. Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired October 15, 2018 - 06:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

[05:59:01] ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. This is NEW DAY. It is Monday, October 15, 6 a.m. here in New York, and we do begin with breaking news. Because a diplomatic source has just told CNN that Saudi Arabia has given permission to Turkish authorities to search their consulate in Istanbul today.

There is growing international pressure for the Saudis to explain what happened to missing journalist Jamal Khashoggi. President Trump vows to severely punish the Saudis if they killed "The Washington Post" columnist. The Saudis, of course, are denying involvement, and they are threatening to retaliate against any sanctions.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: So as the world wonders whether President Trump will stand up to the horrific alleged human rights abuses by Saudi Arabia, he gave a crystal-clear and glaring assessment of what he thinks about others accused of atrocities. In a remarkable interview with "60 Minutes" overnight, the president acknowledged that Russian President Vladimir Putin, quote, "probably" assassinates and poisons his rivals. But the president seemed to downplay the significance of it doesn't happen on U.S. soil.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LESLIE STAHL, "60 Minutes": Do you agree that Vladimir Putin is involved in assassinations, in poisonings?

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Probably he is. Yes, probably. I mean, I don't --

STAHL: Probably?

TRUMP: Probably. but I rely on them. It's not in our country.

STAHL: Then why not -- they shouldn't do it. This is a terrible thing.

TRUMP: Of course, they shouldn't do it.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BERMAN: So that's the Trump doctrine now on foreign policy: Do what you want. Just don't do it here. But wait, there's more. The president also made some startling comments about his declared love for North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STAHL: I want to read you his resume. OK?

TRUMP: Go ahead.

STAHL: He resides over a cruel kingdom of repression, gulags, starvation; reports that he had his half-brother assassinated; slave labor, public executions. This is a guy you love?

TRUMP: I know all these things. I mean, I'm not a baby. I know all these things.

STAHL: I know, but why do you love that guy?

TRUMP: Look -- look, I like -- I get along with him, OK?

STAHL: You said, "I love him."

TRUMP: OK. That's just a figure of speech.

STAHL: No, it's like an embrace.

TRUMP: Well, let it be an embrace. Let it be whatever it is to get the job done.

STAHL: He's a bad guy.

TRUMP: Look, let it be whatever it is. I get along with him really well. I have a good energy with him. I have a good chemistry with him. Look at the horrible threats that were made. No more threats. No more threats.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: All right. We also have breaking news. Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren, who has been dogged for years about her past claims of having Native American heritage, has released the results of a DNA test to "The Boston Globe" this morning. Will this put the whole controversy to rest?

BERMAN: I'm going to take the under on that.

CAMEROTA: Yes. No?

BERMAN: I'm going to take the under.

CAMEROTA: But what does the DNA test say?

BERMAN: Hold on. That's a tease. We'll get to that in a moment. CAMEROTA: Let's bring in CNN White House correspondent Abby Phillip;

senior political analyst, John Avlon; and CNN politics reporter Lauren Fox.

Abby, I barely know where to begin. I guess we'll start with the "60 Minutes" interview with President Trump, because it was fascinating. I mean, we couldn't turn away. You heard the Trump doctrine, as John just said, but I don't know that that's new. That is "America first."

But he just spelled it out. He articulated it more than we'd ever heard, which is hear no evil, see no evil, if it doesn't happen in the United States. And the problem with that is that it may embolden people like the crown prince of Saudi Arabia to do whatever they want.

ABBY PHILLIP, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's exactly right, Alisyn. I think maybe it's not surprising to a lot of people that this is how the president feels about this particular issue.

But it is newsworthy at this moment, when the question facing the world right now is really are -- is there a vacuum out in the foreign policy world in which the United States has basically said, "We don't really care what you do, as long as you don't mess with us directly. As long as you don't mess with our citizens directly, you can go ahead and do whatever you want."

And it seemed that President Trump was kind of allowing that narrative to continue forward. This is a pivotal moment for the United States to either say human rights is still a critical pillar of our foreign policy. We still care about this on the global stage. And even if it doesn't happen to an American citizen it still matters.

And President Trump did not say that. In fact, he brushed off North Korea. He brushed off Russia. He brushed off a lot of things in that interview and, at this moment, I think it's important and it's worth mentioning, because I think there's no coincidence that, while the White House is trying to figure out what to do with Saudi Arabia, the president is not necessarily willing to go as far as a lot of people in his own party are asking him to go, in part because he feels that what Saudi Arabia does with their own citizens is not -- not necessarily his problem. He's far more concerned about whether or not they're spending money in his view in the U.S. economy than about human rights violations abroad.

BERMAN: Abby said it's not surprising, not for this president. But it's shocking that a U.S. president would say as clearly as he did, that it didn't matter because it wasn't here, or to diminish it because it wasn't here. And it's the exact same language he used when talking about Khashoggi three days ago. He's saying, "Yes, but it wasn't here. It wasn't here." Insofar as there's a linear thread to the president's foreign policy, this appears to be it. This is the Trump doctrine.

AVLON: This is the Trump doctrine, and we know because he said it at the United Nations just a few weeks ago. This is not narrative. This is U.S. policy. When he talked about sovereignty, that doctrine of sovereignty to the

world, he framed it in a way that basically said what he's continuing to say: "We don't care what you do at home. Just don't do it here." That's how he's framing sovereignty.

And the world's leaders, the world's autocrats and dictators hear it as it seems to be intended. And the president made that very clear tonight. Khashoggi, Putin, and on and on and on.

This is not a freedom agenda administration, repudiating the doctrine of George W. Bush. This is not an administration that's putting human rights forward, as so many others have. This is about retreating to our own borders. That is, unfortunately, "American first" when it comes to America's moral leadership in the world.

[06:05:13] CAMEROTA: There's also a very personal component, Lauren, to it. If the president has personal chemistry with someone, if someone likes him, it doesn't matter what their human rights abuses are back at home, whether it's Putin, Kim Jong-un, what's happening with Saudi Arabia, that trumps, for lack of a better word, all the other calculations for him. I mean, he was quite honest about it.

LAUREN FOX, CNN POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. And that's exactly what we heard when he was talking about North Korea, his relationship that he had there.

Because when it comes to if he has personal chemistry, if he sits down in a room and can connect with another world leader, that seems to be front and center. It makes it so that he's able to cut deals. That at the core is who this president is.

Can he get a deal with North Korea? Can he get a deal with Vladimir Putin? And regardless of how the world views those individuals, regardless of human rights violations it appears that the president is most concerned about whether or not he personally gets along with these leaders.

BERMAN: I would add to the personal note here, because the loophole in the Trump doctrine, not meddling in the United States, seems to be if it's meddling that hurts my political opponents, because the president refused once again to condemn Vladimir Putin for the election meddling. Leslie Stahl gave him many, many an opportunity in this interview.

Let's just play what he had to say about Russian interference during this interview.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STAHL: Do you believe that the Russians interferes in the 2016 campaign -- election?

TRUMP: Well, they meddled, but I think China meddled, too. And I think other --

STAHL: Why do you say China meddled, too? TRUMP: And you want to know something else?

STAHL: Why do you say China? Why don't you just say the Russians meddled?

TRUMP: Because I think China meddled also. And I think, frankly, China is a bigger problem.

STAHL: You're diverting the whole Russian thing --

RUMP: I'm not doing anything. I'm saying Russia, but I'm also saying China.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: The Trump doctrine has a Trump clause.

AVLON: It has a Trump clause. And it could be, you know, a 400-pound person on their bed in New Jersey, as he said.

This is part of, actually, a larger pattern, which says, "Look, the world is full of bad actors. Let's not focus on any one." It's the way Putin sees the world and says, "Look, every country does this. The U.S. is being hypocrites by trying to hold itself to a higher standard, and why don't we lower everybody to the standard of rogue nation dictators? That is the larger problem.

The other big loophole, though, of course, is American business. And that's the point he made about Saudi Arabia, saying, "Look, we have a huge $110 billion military deal with them. Every other country wanted it, Russia, China. We got it. I don't want to put that in jeopardy."

Among the many problems with that standard being put out is the great dealmaker just gave a tell and gave the Saudis leverage, because if he tries to impose sanctions, they can pull the deal.

CAMEROTA: There is so much to cover, Abby. So in the wake of the Category 4 hurricane that obviously has decimated so much of the Florida Panhandle. Leslie Stahl asked President Trump where he is now on climate change. Does he, having seen all of these hurricanes that appear to be increasing in intensity, does he still believe climate change is a hoax as he once said?

Here is his response.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I'm not denying climate change, but it could very well go back -- you know, we're talking about --

STAHL: But that's denying it.

TRUMP: -- over millions of years. They say that we had hurricanes that were far worse than what we just had with Michael.

STAHL: Who says that? They say? TRUMP: People say -- people say that in the --

STAHL: What about the scientists who say it's worse than ever?

TRUMP: You'd have to show me the scientists, because they have a very big political agenda, Leslie.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: Abby, what is remarkable about that, is "they say." He hasn't seen the science, clearly, because nobody has shown it to him. And the helpless stance. You know, if you just say, "Well, in a million years, it will go back to being the other way," if you believe that it is all cyclical, and man and humans have nothing to do with it, well, then, there's nothing you can do. I mean, it's actually a sort of helpless and convenient stance, because there's nothing, really, we can do about it.

I think it's worth also pointing out here, Alisyn, that President Trump's skepticism of climate change goes way back. He's been -- he's been suggesting that climate change was a hoax, there was something that wasn't real, weather patterns, that a warm day or a cold day means climate change isn't real.

So this isn't surprising. But what's so interesting and worth remembering here is that a few days ago, there was a report put on President Trump's desk, showing him the science behind climate change. And President Trump was asked about it, and he said, "I'll have to take a look at it. We have to see who drew it up."

And what you heard there in that interview with Leslie Stahl was the president saying that, "It's not just I have to see the science. I don't trust the people who are writing these reports."

He thinks that everyone has a political agenda, including the climate scientists who are looking at the data and writing up reports and giving their best estimates about what is going to happen if humans don't start doing something about this.

And I think what you saw from President Trump there was just kicking the can down the road. It's just not something he wants to talk about. It's not something he's ever really believed in. And in fact, actually, his party backs him up on this.

If you poll Republican leaders on Capitol Hill, I think you would find that most of them would -- would repeat pretty much what President Trump said, which is that maybe climate change is real. But I don't think humans are behind it, and I think that it's typical and we will go back to another cycle in which climate change isn't actually a negative impact on human existence on this plane.

BERMAN: That is denial, by the way. He is denying that humans are involved in climate change. (AUDIO GAP) and humanity is behind it.

If we can, I want to talk about another major political development overnight, and that is out of Massachusetts but really has national implications.

And Elizabeth Warren, the Democratic senator from Massachusetts, took a DNA test. She took a DNA test. You say, why? Why did she do this? Because you will remember that for years, Elizabeth Warren has been dogged by these claims that she was lying about her assertion that she has Native American heritage. She says that she's from Oklahoma. She always grew up thinking that she had Native American roots.

CAMEROTA: She used it to her advantage, allegedly, for employment and education.

BERMAN: President Trump has used a Native American term. I'm going to say it. He calls her Pocahontas, and he has dared her to take a DNA test.

Well, guess what she did? She took the DNA test, and what did it find? It found that she, in fact, does have Native American DNA. A scientist whose name is Carlos Di Bustamante from Stanford University, says she's somewhere between 1/32 Native American and 1/512 Native American.

CAMEROTA: Well, that puts it to rest.

BERMAN: But it's in there somewhere.

CAMEROTA: It's her great, great -- they believe it's her great-great- great-grandmother that was Native American. That's even closer than 512th.

BERMAN: But that actually goes in line with the type of story that she used to tell during the campaigns. To me there are two things that are fascinating about this.

No. 1, and let's start with this, Lauren. What does this tell us about how Democrats choose to respond or position themselves against President Trump going forward? Is this Elizabeth Warren saying, "I've to respond to this. I can't just let it sit out there. I will take the test."

FOX: We often talk about Elizabeth Warren as a potential presidential candidate in 2020. And this issue comes up over and over again. And while the president has attacked her on it, you can bet that Democratic opponents would also have attacked her on this issue.

So this is her using facts to try to put this issue to rest. And I think that's exactly what she's doing here. She's saying that "The president is going to keep talking about this. Then I will take a DNA test. I will release it publicly. And here are the facts. Here are the facts, Mr. President, and here are what you can say -- here's what you can say about me moving forward."

And I think that that is exactly what she's trying to do here. She's just trying to create a story line that is very clear where the president attacks her and she says, "OK, you say I'm not Native American. Here's my DNA test. They believe that back in several generations of my family history, which is consistent with the story I've told, there is Native American DNA in my family."

CAMEROTA: But John, being 1/32 Native American, does that quiet the critics?

AVLON: Look, look, you know, you can't reason people out of something they weren't reasoned into. And one of Trump's great political strengths is slapping a nickname on somebody and having it stick.

That said, the idea that this claim was a fraud, that she was lying about her family's heritage, this story that had been passed down, is wrong. Even President Obama eventually went to the attic and got his long-form birth certificate to try to silence that, you know, conspiracy theorist nonsense.

But it recognizes Trump's strength. Warren is a really influential figure in the Democratic Party. She's been doing an enormous amount to try to reach out to candidates this cycle. A good sign of somebody trying to consolidate a presidential run, and this has dogged her. And it may have resonated primarily among her base. Now she's got the stats and facts to back up her claim.

BERMAN: I'm also fascinated by the timing of this.

AVLON: Sure.

BERMAN: This is three weeks before the midterm election, Abby. This seems to me, as much as you can have an announcement without announcing, Elizabeth Warren just announced she's running for president. You don't just happen to release your DNA test to clear it up, so everyone knows, just in case, so that I can do constituent work for the people of Massachusetts. That's not why you do it. This is a declaration that she is running and she wants to be earlier than everyone else who will jump in the day after the midterms.

PHILLIP: No question, John. I mean, she's -- she's running. I mean, this is what this means. If you're going to go out there, and put this out there, it's because you want to start this process of putting out -- of pre-butting all of the potential dirty laundry that you're going to have to deal with in either a Democratic primary, as Lauren pointed out, or with President Trump, who has been in recent weeks talking about this ad nauseum.

[06:15:05] That being said, I don't think that the DNA test is going to stand in President Trump's way when it comes to bringing up this issue on the campaign trail with Elizabeth Warren.

But I do think we should put it in the broader context. Over the last couple of days, we've heard a lot about Elizabeth Warren trying to boost Democratic candidates, doing a lot to help her party. This is all part of a strategy to show that not only is she running, but she's running to try to lead the party in 2020. And I think that this is her declaration, that she's out there and she's doing this thing.

CAMEROTA: All right. Abby, Lauren, John, thank you very much.

We have more breaking news. CNN has learned that Saudi Arabia is granting permission to Turkish

authorities to search the Saudi consulate in Istanbul today, nearly two weeks after journalist Jamal Khashoggi was last seen walking in there.

President Trump and Saudi Arabia are escalating their threats over Khashoggi's suspected murder. So let's bring in CNN's chief international correspondent, Clarissa Ward. She is live for us in Ankara, Turkey.

What's the situation there, Clarissa?

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's right. As you said, Alisyn, apparently a significant concession from the Saudis here, agreeing to allow Turkish authorities into the consulate. This is something the Turks have been asking for from the very beginning.

Initially, the Saudis said that they were OK with it. Then they appeared to change their minds. Really an indication, I would say, Alisyn, of potentially some kind of deal. An agreement has been reached between the Turks, between the Saudis. We know, of course, last night that the King Salman of Saudi Arabia spoke to President Erdogan.

And we're also hearing now a Saudi official telling CNN that Saudi Arabia is about to make public the results of an internal investigation. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WARD (voice-over): Saudi Arabia threatening to respond with greater action to any sanctions imposed on the kingdom over the disappearance of dissident and journalist Jamal Khashoggi. This after President Trump warned of serious retribution if the Saudis are found to be responsible for his suspected murder.

TRUMP: There's something really terrible and disgusting about that, if that were the case. We're going to have to see. We're going to get to the bottom of it, and there will be severe punishment.

WARD: The Saudi embassy later softening its tone, tweeting that it "appreciates the U.S. for refraining from jumping to conclusions on the ongoing investigation."

But international pressure is mounting. The United Kingdom, Germany and France issuing a joint statement, demanding a credible investigation into Khashoggi's fate as bipartisan lawmakers on Capitol Hill pledge to take action.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I), VERMONT: We cannot have an ally who murders, in cold blood, in their own consulate, a critic, a dissident. That is unacceptable.

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R), FLORIDA: There will be a very strong congressional response, if in fact, the Saudis lured him into that consulate, murdered him, cut up his body and disposed of it.

WARD: Senator Marco Rubio urging Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin to skip an investment conference in Saudi Arabia next week as a number of high-profile companies and investors pull out of the event.

MIKE POMPEO (R), SECRETARY OF STATE: We need to continue to evaluate the facts, and we'll make that decision.

WARD: Mr. Trump, who traveled to Saudi Arabia on his first overseas trip as president, repeating his opposition to cutting off arms sales to the kingdom.

TRUMP: I actually think we'd be punishing ourselves. There are other things we can do that are very, very powerful, very strong; and we'll do that.

WARD: Saudi Arabia insists it is not responsible for Khashoggi's disappearance. This security footage shows the "Washington Post" columnist entering the Saudi consulate nearly two weeks ago. The Turkish government says it has audio evidence that proves he was murdered inside. The Saudis have yet to provide any evidence that shows Khashoggi leaving the building.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WARD: Now, however this investigation resolves itself, there's no question that it really puts a spotlight on the U.S. relationship with Saudi Arabia, particularly the Trump administration's relationship with Saudi Arabia, which has been very warm, centering, of course, on this relationship between the president's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and the crown prince, MBS.

Kushner has been a champion and a confidant of MBS from the get-go. He has said that he is key to his Middle East peace plan. This whole episode really raising questions, potentially, about the wisdom of his judgment -- John.

BERMAN: All right. Clarissa, stand by. We will have much more on this and the Trump doctrine coming up in just a moment. Also, we have epic breaking international news.

CAMEROTA: Glad you're selling it.

BERMAN: Someone is having a baby. There's a woman out there having a baby.

CAMEROTA: A very special woman.

BERMAN: Is it?

CAMEROTA: Yes.

BERMAN: Really?

CAMEROTA: Yes.

BERMAN: Why?

CAMEROTA: She's very pretty.

AVLON: And American.

BERMAN: And American. She was once American.

CAMEROTA: And American. Thank you. I knew there was another thing.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: All right. We are following breaking news. CNN has learned that Saudi Arabia is granting permission for the Turkish authorities to search the consulate and Istanbul today. This is nearly two weeks after journalist Jamal Khashoggi was last seen walking in there.

The Turks say they have audio and video evidence that "The Washington Post" columnist was murdered inside the diplomatic compound.

I want to bring in CNN chief international correspondent Clarissa Ward. We just heard from Clarissa a moment ago. And also anchor of "Connect the Word" on CNN International, Becky Anderson.

And Becky, I want to start with you. What are the chances that, at some point over the next 24 hours, the Saudis just say, "You know what? We did it. This happened. This happened inside our consulate. We're sorry. It was a mistake. It happened." Does this regime crack under pressure, the likes of which they're seeing now?

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR, "CONNECT THE WORLD": There is no precedent for this, is there? My experience is that they are going to want to move on from what we are seeing here, so there is every possibility, certainly, that that might happen.

In fact, sources telling us that there is an internal investigation going on in the kingdom, and that was called for, we hear, certainly. And this is -- sources who we can't name. But, you know, there's an internal investigation going on now to get to the bottom of exactly what happened, if, indeed, you know, the Saudi authorities in any way were involved in this.

[06:20:05] But I think the wider picture here, John, is a really interesting one, and certainly from Washington's perspective. Because the bottom line here is the bottom line.

Saudi Arabia, of course, waving an enormous weapons check at Donald Trump. We're talking billions and billions of dollars, and that equals jobs, American jobs.

And this has been a huge part of all of this. This is why what is happening here has crossed thousands of miles away, of course, into Washington. And there will be pressure behind the scenes now in Washington on both the Turks and the Saudis to get on with this.

And we are now hearing -- we may hear more this afternoon -- but we are now hearing that the Saudis have allowed the Turkish officials to get involved in the consulate and to get on with this investigation.

I mean, this is -- as far as Washington is concerned, this is more than country to country, this relationship. This has been a story of if, as it were, principality to principality.

One, of course, the young powerful crown prince of Saudi Arabia, and that's MBS. King Salman. And the other known, around these parts, at least, the clown prince, that being Jared Kushner. They have been -- many of their critics say they've sort of opaque brand of loyalness, have been forging a new way of doing business.

And the question in all of this, unless we forget, there's the mystery of a man's disappearance here. But it's got much wider than that, and it's got back to Washington with a big question. Is that bromance, that bromance of cliques, in trouble now, and if so what are the consequences?

And we've certainly seen that, by stepping in, the king of Saudi Arabia, King Salman, who put out a very positive statement about his -- about his conversation with President Erdogan here, that is a really important development, as was the message from the Washington -- from the Saudi's embassy in Washington, really sort of putting to rest a very bombastic message from Saudi yesterday in response to the idea of severe punishment by the Americans in all of this.

So there's a really, really sort of interesting diplomatic dance going on. It's been extremely chaotic. You've got Turkey in the middle. 0 You have Washington as one arm of this. You've got Saudi Arabia as another. And then you've got what many will call the pay masters, the pay masters for Turkey these days. A deafening silence from them, because this has revealed some serious risks that exist. This has really revealed those. A very partisan, polarized region that we live in here. Cats are on one the side. The Saudis on the other.

CAMEROTA: Oh, my gosh. So Clarissa, I mean, Becky brings up all of the complications of this. But on a sort of just simple level, it's hard to imagine what evidence there will still be in the consulate two weeks after Khashoggi's death. So it's nice that the Saudis have opened their doors now to the Turks, but hard to know if they'll find anything conclusive.

But to Becky's point, in terms of how intertwined all of these countries are, the U.S. and Saudi Arabia, in terms of trying to fight global terrorism; in terms of the money deals back and forth; in terms of the Jared Kushner/MBS relationship, it just could not be a more complicated chess game.

WARD: This is definitely, Alisyn, one of the more trickier foreign policy quagmires I think that the Trump administration finds itself in, not just because of the more than $100 billion in weapons sales, deals that they have made with Saudi Arabia, not just because of this incredibly close relationship that Jared Kushner has forged, seeing MBS, the crown prince, as kind of the lynchpin of his peace plan.

But also because we've seen the Trump administration really focus its efforts against Iran. And any efforts against Iran sort of necessitate, if you will, the help of Saudi Arabia.

But at a certain point, one has to ask oneself, you know, is it possible, to on one hand, follow your strategic interests, keep up your foreign policy interests, follow your economic interests, without using serious moral credibility on the world stage?

At its core, this is an issue of a journalist who was outspoken, who was brave, who was quite possibly, increasingly more likely looking, brutally murdered in the Saudi consulate.

Now, we have to see what the Saudis are going to say as part of their internal investigation. Will they try to frame this as a rogue operation? Will they frame this as a botched operation?

And even if they do so, is that enough to satisfy the U.S.? Is that enough to satisfy President Trump? Because a lot of Americans and, perhaps more importantly, bipartisan people in Congress will be asking very tough questions of the White House and its very cozy relationship with the kingdom.

BERMAN: Clarissa, Becky, thank you very, very much. We're waiting to hear from the Saudis officially. We're also waiting to hear much more from the Trump administration today.